Bachelors and Masters in Health Management and Administration in Minnesota

In 2014, the Star Tribune reported that, as a group, ten of the largest hospital systems in Minnesota saw their operating revenues increase by 38 percent between FY2013 and FY2014. Combined, their earnings hit the highest mark in four years. This is good news for health system administrators and facility managers in Minnesota, who rely on strong operating budgets to deliver superior healthcare, hire more staff and expand facilities.

Reflective of the surge in hospital budgets and the ever-increasing demand for health services, the number of jobs available to Minnesota’s medical and health services managers continues to grow. The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development ranked medical and health services managers among the top most in-demand professions in the state, with a projected job growth rate that is “well above average” through 2020. This growing employment sector is expected to add 2,530 new jobs during the ten-year period between 2010 and 2020, creating opportunities for experienced professionals to advance while giving those new to the field access to entry-level jobs.

Healthcare Administration and Management Degrees in Minnesota

Degrees in healthcare administration and management in Minnesota provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to serve as leaders in Minnesota’s dynamic healthcare sector.

Undergraduate Degrees in Healthcare Administration and Management

Bachelor’s degrees in healthcare administration and management are generally structured as either Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) or Bachelor of Health Administration (BHA) degrees.

Undergraduate degrees allow students to begin exploring the field of healthcare administration and achieve entry-level healthcare management jobs in a number of different settings.

These programs, which consist of about four years of full-time study and 120 semester credits, prepare students through a comprehensive curriculum of general education, technology, management, and healthcare-related courses. Coursework provides students with in-depth knowledge of the healthcare system, including the leadership skills necessary to work as healthcare managers.

The core content of these programs includes study in areas like:

Health information systems

Introduction to the healthcare system

Healthcare and medical needs

Healthcare leadership and planning

Healthcare policy and comparative systems

Risk management in healthcare

Healthcare finance

Graduate Degrees in Healthcare Administration and Management

Widely recognized as the standard requirement for senior-level positions in healthcare administration, master’s degrees provide students with the opportunity for a more specialized and focused course of study in health administration.

Program Structure

The titles of master’s degrees in healthcare administration vary depending on the school or college that houses them. For example, schools of public health, schools of public administration/public policy, and schools of business management often provide the foundation of these programs.

Therefore, depending on the institution, titles for master’s degrees in healthcare administration may include:

Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA)

Master of Public Health (MPH) (with a health administration focus)

Master of Business Administration (MBA) (with a health administration focus)

Master of Public Administration (MPA) (with a health administration focus)

These programs may also be part of dual degree programs, such as these:

JD/MHA

MBA/MPH

MD/MBA

MHA/MBA

Master’s degree programs in health administration may also vary based on the type of student. For example, residential programs appeal to traditional students completing on campus study, while executive programs appeal to experienced professionals pursuing career advancement through part-time, evening, and online study options.

Some master’s degree programs combine both undergraduate and graduate coursework in an accelerated format that allows students to earn both their bachelor’s and master’s degree in healthcare administration in about five years.

Admission Requirements

The basic admission requirement for a master’s degree program in health administration is a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university. However, few students enter these programs with an undergraduate degree in healthcare administration. Instead, institutions accept students who possess undergraduate degrees in areas like business, finance, accounting, human resources, and communications, just to name a few. Many still possess undergraduate degrees in medical professions. Regardless of the undergraduate degree the candidates possess, most institutions maintain specific undergraduate course prerequisites.

Master’s degree programs include between 18 and 24 months of full-time study. Core coursework in these programs often involves studying these topics:

Information technology for healthcare administration

Public health administration

Long-term care administration

Financial management for healthcare organizations

Research methods for healthcare managers

Legal aspects of healthcare administration

Healthcare institutional organization and management

Most of these programs culminate in a healthcare administration capstone or master’s thesis project.

Healthcare Administration and Management Jobs in Minnesota

Upon completing a qualifying degree program, graduates can begin searching for health administration jobs in Minnesota’s:

Hospitals

Healthcare systems

Managed care organizations

Public health systems

Long-term care facilities

Physician practices

The following list of job opportunities in Minnesota (retrieved from job vacancy announcements posted November 2015), are shown as illustrative examples only. These job descriptions provides job seekers with an idea of the vast array of opportunities available in healthcare administration in Minnesota:

Director of Operations, Minneapolis – Oversees the referral processing, assessments scheduling, and customer service operations teams; requires a proven record of administrative leadership in a large health organization that entails managing a complex system of multiple entities and agencies; a bachelor’s degree in a health or human services field and/or business administration is required, a master’s degree is preferred

Provider Recruiter, Woodbury – Assists with and carries out initiatives for the provider recruitment strategy, including the recruitment of physicians and mid-level providers; bachelor’s degree in business administration, human resources, or a related field required; a master’s degree is desirable